At the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) in Istanbul in May 2016, global leaders came together to express their commitment to place people at the centre of decision-making and action. In doing so, they reaffirmed that the scale of current humanitarian issues required greater international cooperation. The Summit triggered a major shift in how the global community will work closer together to prevent and respond to human suffering.

Aid workers carry out life-saving often in dangerous and difficult circumstances. Over the past 16 years, 427 aid workers were killed, wounded or kidnapped in West and Central Africa. The number of victims follows a worrying upward trend with spikes in attacks recorded in recent years. Countries with the highest number of victims are the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Chad and Mali. The majority of victims were national staff, who account for the bulk of humanitarian workers and are often the most exposed to risks

During the second quarter, CERF allocates over US$ 19.8 million for Life saving programs

The United Nations Cenral Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated over the last three months a total of US$19.8 million to Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Congo, Mali and Senegal. This brings to $47.9 million the total amount allocated so far in 2013 to West and Central Africa.